The Eriogonum nudum plant is a tall, bare, leafless stem, bifurcating into more stems, each topped with rounded clusters of white or pale pink or yellow flowers growing up to six feet from a basal rosette at the ground, where the flat green leaves are located.

Naked buckwheat can be found scattered around the west coast of the United States.

It can be found at wet coastal sea level locales and the coldest, driest elevations of the Sierra Nevada, as well as many areas in between.

At least one butterfly subspecies (Apodemia mormo langei) uses naked buckwheat as its primary food source.

The complex of varieties and subspecies of naked buckwheat includes: